Yoervis Medina (3-1) threw a scoreless eighth f

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In short order, you will find out the identity of the NFC Souths best team. With two meetings scheduled over the next three weeks, the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints are set to battle for division supremacy as well as a potential first-round bye in the NFC playoff picture. Things get started this Sunday night in the Big Easy with the sequel set for Charlotte on Dec. 22. Catch all the action on TSN starting with Football Night in America at 7pm et/4pm pt. "Its like youre getting the best of the best," NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth said when talking about this weeks affair, which will air nationally on "Sunday Night Football." "Youre going to see Carolinas defense, led by Luke Kuechly, going into the Superdome where weve seen everybody struggle to try and stop that offense with Drew Brees. Its going to be fantastic." Fantastic indeed. Carolina has won a franchise-record eight consecutive games, including last weeks dominating 27-6 victory over Tampa Bay. For their next trick the Panthers will attempt to become just the second NFL team to win nine consecutive this season (joining Kansas City) and the first club to beat Brees and Co. in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another against the Bucs, while Carolinas defense, which leads the NFL in fewest points allowed (157), limited Tampa Bay to 206 total net yards and no touchdowns. Newton threw for 263 yards with two interceptions while adding 68 yards and a TD on the ground. Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn Jr. each had touchdown catches in the rout. "People want to keep pointing at me, but the truth of the matter is our defense is playing lights out and giving us opportunities," admitted Newton. The Saints, meanwhile, are 6-0 at home this season and Brees leads the NFL with a 122.2 home passer rating, which includes 19 touchdowns and only three interceptions. However, New Orleans was blitzed in Seattle on Monday night when Russell Wilson had three touchdowns passes and the Seahawks became the first team to clinch a playoff spot with a resounding 34-7 win over the Saints. The Seattle defense did its part on Monday, limiting Brees to just 147 yards and a touchdown on 23-for-38 passing, and allowing the Saints to cross midfield just once in the first three quarters while also stopping NOLA twice on fourth down in the fourth quarter. The seven total points matched the lowest output the Saints have scored since Sean Payton took over the team in 2006, while the 188 total yards accrued were the fewest in Payton-era. "That first half was real tough and we just couldnt get anything going," said Brees. "We had a bunch of three-and-outs before we had that one drive where we scored. But after that we just couldnt do much at all. We took one in the chin today." With the loss, its first since dropping a game in New York to the Jets on Nov. 3, New Orleans fell into a tie for first in the NFC South with Carolina, and two games behind the Seahawks for the conferences top spot. "Well make sure well get the corrections made because theres a lot of things we didnt do well," said Payton. "Its a short week and we have some work to do here." The Panthers lead the all-time series with the Saints by a slim 19-17 margin after sweeping the season series a year ago. WHAT TO WATCH FOR This is your classic matchup of strength versus strength pitting New Orleans powerful offense against Carolinas league-leading D. Forget the Saints team you saw in Seattle, this is a totally different bunch on the fast track in the dome. New Orleans is unbeaten and averages 33.2 points a game at home this season while outscoring opponents 199-95 in six contests. The Panthers, on the other hand, have won four consecutive on the road and their defense is allowing an NFL-low 13.1 points per game and only 289.8 yards per contest, second best in football. Carolina is also the last team to actually beat the Saints in NOLA, earning a 44-38 decision last December. "There are a lot of things theyre doing offensively that make you say, Wow," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "A lot of people thought last year that Jimmy Graham had an off-year, but now watching him he looks like hes in the form he was two years ago. Darren Sproles, Ive got a bottle of Tums next to me because he is a heck of a football player. And Drew Brees is having a classic Drew Brees season." Rivera touched on the two players that make the New Orleans offense so difficult to deal with, matchup nightmares Graham and Sproles. The lengthy Graham has 68 receptions for 988 yards and 12 TDs on the season and six 100-yard games, the most ever for a tight end, while Sproles leads all NFL running backs with 216 catches, 1,872 receiving yards and 16 receiving TDs since 2011. Helping matters for Carolina could be the possible return of star pass rusher Charles Johnson, who has missed the last two games with a sprained knee. Johnson leads the Panthers with 8 1/2 sacks and since the 2010 season is one of just two NFL players with 40-plus sacks (41.5) and 10-plus forced fumbles (10). Kuechly, meanwhile, has settled in as the best middle linebacker in the game, compiling 266 tackles since debuting in 2012, the most in all of football over that period. The Carolina offense isnt nearly as formidable save for the dynamic Newton, who has thrown 19 touchdowns and rushed for six more so far this season. Veteran receiver Steve Smith and tight end Greg Olsen have been Newtons favorite targets but neither will pop the top off a defense at this stage. Newton, though, seems to have realized that he can live to play another down so to speak and punting the football isnt the worst thing in the world with his defense. Taking care of the football is paramount to the Panthers and Newton has done so in recent weeks, although he did throw two picks against Tampa Bay. Overall, Carolina has turned it over just seven times during its winning streak and is one of only five teams with a plus-10 turnover ratio. "We know that were going to have to minimize these turnovers," Newton said. OVERALL ANALYSIS A dismal trip to Seattle and a short week for the Saints was further exacerbated when the teams chartered flight out of the Pacific Northwest was delayed a day. "Its a setback and now youre on a short week, but we have to make the corrections," Payton said. "We have to quickly get focused on Carolina. Theyre playing as good football as anybody in the league right now." The best way to forget about the Seahawks and Seattle is to get back on the horse in the dome and halt Carolinas franchise-record winning streak. Expect the fast track to be the difference here before the Panthers rebound to hold serve in Charlotte down the road. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Saints 27, Panthers 17 Authentic Patrick Beverley Rockets Jersey .com) - The Milwaukee Bucks will try to get another win on this homestand Thursday night when they welcome the Utah Jazz to the Bradley Center. Cheap Eric Gordon Jersey . The San Antonio Spurs handled the conditions, and the team, and it sure helped when a suffering LeBron James couldnt make it to the finish. http://www.authenticrocketsproshop.com/. Ryan Getzlaf certainly got them started in the second. Getzlaf scored the first two goals in the second, and Teemu Selanne scored the go-ahead goal late in the period as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 Thursday night. Authentic Ryan Anderson Rockets Jersey . The Laval Rouge et Or defensive back/kick-returner gained the invitation following his showing Sunday at an NFL regional combine in Baltimore. Authentic KJ McDaniels Rockets Jersey .com) - Mike Conley scored 20 points with five assists to help the Memphis Grizzlies remain unbeaten with a 91-89 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Felix Hernandez didnt get the win. His dominant performance put the Seattle Mariners in position for victory, though. Hernandez struck out a career-high 15 in seven innings before Endy Chavez keyed a five-run ninth with a tiebreaking RBI single, leading the Mariners to a 5-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. When asked what was working, Hernandez said "everything." "It was fun to go out there," he said. Rays manager Joe Maddon felt Hernandez was better than his perfect game against Tampa Bay on Aug. 15, 2012. "That changeup was a fastball until the last moment, then it became a changeup," Maddon said. "The man was outstanding." Ten of Hernandezs 12 swinging strikeouts came on changeups. James Jones had a two-run triple for the Mariners, who have won seven of eight. Hernandez had won his previous five starts, which was two away from tying the team record held by Jamie Moyer (2003) and Scott Bankhead (1989), but the Mariners were held scoreless until the ninth by Chris Archer and two relievers. King Felix scattered four hits. He remains winless at Tropicana Field, going 0-2 in four starts. "One of these days," Hernandez said with a smile. After Brad Miller hit a two-out triple and Willie Bloomquist walked against Grant Balfour (0-2), the left-handed hitting Chavez slapped a two-strike single to left for a 1-0 lead. Jones had his triple before Kyle Seager added a two-run double. "After watching that for about the last eight, nine years, its not lucky anymore," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said of Chavezs hit. "I think its talent. Ive seen him do it time and time again." Yoervis Medina (3-1) threw a scoreless eighth for the win. Hernandez reached 1,800 career strikeouts when he struck out Evan Longoria to end the third. Hernandez struck out six through three innings, and 11 though five. This was the right-haanders 29th double-digit strikeout performance, which moved him past Mark Langston into sole possession of second place on the Mariners career list.dddddddddddd Archer gave up five hits over 6 1-3 scoreless innings. He is just 1-1 over his last five starts despite allowing just three runs in 31 innings. "The young man is pretty special," said McClendon about Archer. "Thats what you call a game for the purist." Tampa Bay has lost 12 of 13. The Mariners loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, but failed to score. Archer got a forceout at the plate after making a stumbling grab on Jones comebacker before left fielder Matt Joyce made a one-handed at the wall on Robinson Canos opposite-field drive. Cano extended his road hitting streak to 17 games with a one-out infield single in the eighth. NOTES: Maddon on Balfours status as the ninth-inning man: "Hes our closer as of today. Even if I was going to change anything, I wouldnt tell you guys." ... After Mondays game at Tampa Bay, the Mariners return home Tuesday night to open a three-game series with a terrific pitching matchup. RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (4-2, 2.66 ERA) and Yankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka (9-1, 2.02 ERA), former teammates with Rakuten of Japans Pacific League, are the scheduled starters. "Thats a match up that I would pay to see," McClendon said. "I think it will be a dandy." ... Rays RHP Jeremy Hellickson (elbow) felt fine one day after his first rehab start Saturday with Single-A Charlotte. He expects to be back before the All-Star break. ... Mariners OF Michael Saunders (sore right shoulder) and 1B Justin Smoak (sore left leg) were both out of the lineup for the second straight game. Smoak entered in the ninth as defensive replacement, while Saunders could return in the next few days. ... Seattle LHP Erasmo Ramirez (1-4) is scheduled to go against Rays LHP David Price (4-5) in Mondays series finale. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '